The writing's on the wall

In an article published in the latest issue of the Mediterranean Journal of Education Studies, University lecturer Joanna Cassar questions whether the national minimum curriculum is meeting the needs of adolescent students regarding issues pertaining to sexualities and romantic relationships.

Cassar's article was based on a study of teenage graffiti scribbled on the toilet doors of a post-secondary girls' school in Malta that she conducted between 2004 and 2007. She took digital photos of the graffiti and then selected 191 of them for analysis. The graffiti mainly concerned romantic relationships and sexuality issues such as gender identity, masturbation, virginity, contraception, abortion, and the search for meaning and support.

She explains that "my aim in bringing forward the girls' writings is to challenge silences surrounding de-sexualised curriculums and demonstrate a deeper recognition of female adolescents' needs" in their sexual encounters.

Cassar says understanding young people's perspectives about sexualities is central to understanding any aspect of their sexuality, and that her position was that of giving voice to female adolescents' viewpoints and concerns about sexualities. "The politics I advocate is one of inclusion," she adds.

Sexuality education as a specific subject is absent from post-secondary curricula in Malta. The post-secondary National Minimum Curriculum's stated aim is to contribute to the 'education of the whole person' by empowering students with both life and study skills. The Education Ministry document says the curriculum invites students to adopt a holistic approach to knowledge, become reflective, critical and 'self-directed learners'.

It also seeks to direct students to 'handle emotional responses in a mature manner' and develop their communication skills. It does not, however, mention the sexual development of post-secondary students.

Malta is not alone in this respect. In schools in many countries around the world, sexuality education does not include information about relationships, love and intimacy, but tends to concentrate strictly on biological aspects. However, she points out that "in Malta, this situation is even more accentuated, since even basic words, such as those referring to the genital organs and to the act of making love, are considered rude".

Education is one of the vehicles through which the acquisition of such knowledge and skills related to romantic intimacies and sexuality issues could be made possible, Cassar argues. When adolescents feel unable to talk openly about sexual expression, behaviour and feelings through the school curriculum, they are forced to make up their own "sexual discourses".

She theorises that one of the reasons teenage girls were seeking this knowledge in school toilets might be the lack of sexuality education in the school. The graffiti writers were "seekers and producers of knowledge about sexuality", she suggests. The graffiti "confront the silences that surround sexualities at their school. The graffiti demonstrate that young people's concepts about sexualities question a traditional, Catholic, restricted, insular and conservative paradigm," she says.

In the article, Cassar quotes statistics from various studies by fellow University academic Anthony Abela, as well as the University Chaplaincy, which reveal that Maltese society, and students in particular, are embracing a more secular, democratic, liberal, egalitarian, pluralist, racially diverse and cosmopolitan outlook.

"Comparative studies of Maltese and European values give evidence of a gradual shift from widespread conformity toward greater individualised values, a multiplicity of lifestyles and pluralistic behaviour. There is greater acceptance of the diversity of lifestyles, including those related to homosexuals and more policies fav-ouring gender equality," she writes.

She quotes Abela's conclusion that "the strict traditional morality of the Church in Malta is gradually giving way to a more open discourse on sexuality and its ensuing secularisation".

However, Cassar acknowledges that the process of moving towards more secularism and liberalism in Maltese society is proving to be a divisive, controversial and disturbing experience: "Debate on the morality of issues such as divorce and abortion are intense and highly polarised. The use of contraception as a means of avoiding sexually-transmitted diseases and pregnancy is still debated and there is no consensus between advocates of the abstinence debate and the more liberal faction."

She says that given this situation, teenagers were receiving conflicting messages about sexuality and love: "They hear the abstinence discourse simultaneously with messages advocating the legitimacy and normality of being sexually active. Adolescent girls are often told to be virtuous and reserved sexually. Peer cultures and the media, however, often convey the idea that being sexy is beneficial to gain popularity. Some boys are also told to control their sexual desires by their parents, but they are expected to be sexually active by their peers."

Cassar says that, on the one hand, these conflicting messages could interfere with the process of teenagers forming their identity and cause confusion in terms of what the transition into adolescence signifies. On the other, they could deepen their knowledge and understanding of the complexities related to sexualities and romantic intimacies, she adds.

She argues that both religious and sexual experiences offer means of self-discovery and could be considered as paths toward the understanding of life's purpose. "For some people, religion is regarded as having this purpose to unite people and to get them together in the sharing of everyday and even significant life events.

"Graffiti writers show that the desire for human connection and sexual expression is compelling, and they continuously face the perplexities and implications surrounding it. Sexuality has overwhelming power and some people regard it as a way through which they acquire a sense of belonging and acceptance.

"The graffitists grapple with the understanding and meaning of human relatedness, they leave a trail behind them, which throws significant light to educational policy-makers and curriculum authors."

Cassar concludes her article with the following appeal to policy-makers and curriculum formulators: "Through education, dialogue about the significance of religion and sexualities can be brought together in ways which encompass the same paradoxes, doubts and contradictions, which students are legitimately facing and uncovering.

"The present discourse of silence prevalent in post-secondary curriculums could therefore be replaced by discourses of openness, mutual understanding and respect for diversity."

Dr Cassar is a lecturer at the University's Department of Youth and Community Studies.

Her article in the Mediterranean Journal of Education Studies may be viewed at www.um.edu.mt/emcer/ mjes/nextissue.